Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by proc:

4/5 rDev -0.7%look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A very good offering from Dark Horse. This one pours out to a copperish-red with a slight head. The aroma of fruit and light molasses hits the nose. The taste is rock solid and reminds me of an old ale. There is hints of bourbon, coupled with a light plum taste that gives way to a warming, yet hidden ABV. A great version of a Scottish Ale and one that is a bit different from others I have tried in this style.

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a SA Perfect Pint glass. Appears a dark amber to brown color, with a thin tan head. A thin film was left after the head dissipated, with a ring around the edge. Some lacing is left behind as you drink.

The nose is deeply malty, with tons of caramel, toffee, brown sugar, and dark fruits coming through. It's not overwhelming, but smells wonderful immediately after pouring. The taste follows suit, as expected, with loads of brown sugar and ripe dark fruits coming through. There's also a touch of smoke coming through, and it adds another wonderful level of complexity.

The mouthfeel is full to medium bodied, and sticky, with good levels of carbonation. This beer is very well made, and wonderfully deep. Very enjoyable to drink, and keeps you coming back for more. Even at nearly 10%, the alcohol is hidden, and it's very drinkable.

Pours off with a slightly syrupy look to it, thin but dense tiny bubble lace puts up a fight to stay alive. Be careful of the chunks of sediment at the bottom. Clear dark chestnut color. Smells of a freshly opened can of brown bread, bread crust and a faint animal feed maltiness. Hint of alcohol way back in the nose. Very creamy with a full body and light smoothness, just enough carbonation to get by and pick the beer up. Happy happy, joy joy ... what a malt bomb this is. Creamy bready malt flavor throughout, not overly sweet with a hint of caramel and bread crust. The is a minute vague fruitiness, all in all its hard to pinpoint which leads to a very clean alcohol and clean palate. Finishes malty sweet. And to think this coming in at 9.75% abv.

Very impressive, the cleanest Scotch Ale I have ever run into and dangerously drinkable.

So I'm pretty stoked to review this. I've had a few different Dark Horse brews, but never written a review. This is however my first time having Scotty Karate.

12 oz brown bottle. Lovely bottle shape and the label is well.. Interesting. Some maniac who appears to think he's living during the Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock era.. Which isn't a bad thing! By any means. This is a colorful and catchy name, bottle, and label. And I have no doubt the quality is top notch. Funny how the best breweries get the label art right almost every time. This was poured into a stemmed tulip glass. Belgian style tulip.

A - pours a dark murky chestnut color. Brownish amber with sediment floating within. Head is pretty small and thin and the color of a light brown. Head basically vanishes to a tiny ring of lace leaving minimal stick.

S - dark fruit and a whiff of caramel malt up front. Tiny hints of milk chocolate with more dark fruit creeping up. A really nice dark fruity aroma with the alcohol doing its part.

T - more character than the nose. Dark fruit and caramel malt get things rolling with a sweet sugary note splashing the palate. Wow! Very nice. Peat and a touch of smoke highlight the flavor. Really surprised by the notes of peat this ale has. Alcohol isn't overpowering but definitely adds more to the dark fruit notes and a touch of Scotch spice. The smallest note of cocoa hits just before the malty finish.

M - nice texture and almost too easy to drink. Hardly believe its the abv it lists. Smooth and creamy feel with easy going down. Flavorful and enjoyable experience that even light weights can sip. But remember to read the label. It is nearly 10% abv.

O - not my first Dark Horse brew, but a very good one regardless. Well deserving of the first review from this Brewery. I'm actually more stoked I can get Dark Horse stuff in Ohio. One of those good moments discovering Dark Horse. Scotty Karate is a very good Scotch style ale. It has all the right juice to become someone's go to big beer. Very enjoyable and very well crafted. Scotty Karate is a must try and one to go back to every Autumn.

Poured into a snifter glass a ruddy brown with an orange haze to it a thinner off white head atop.Earth and smoke show thru most in the nose along with some buttery caramel,a good mix of earthiness and peat and sweet caramel and fruit pretty nicely rounded.A good stab at a wee heavy decent complexities but it wont blow you mind.

Appearance  This is a dingy brown in color with a nice brown-white head that somehow formed in this pool of darkish booze.

Smell  The rich sweets and light alcohol dominate the nose. The sweets are dark, like plums, prunes, and apricot pits. The peat is faint and reminds me of beer aged in whiskey barrels. Theres some noticeable malt in the nose as well.

Taste  The sugars explode at the taste, so prepare yourself for that first sip. The smoky character comes out a bit more at the taste as well, but its still not what I would consider strong.

Mouthfeel  This is a medium-bodied ale with a light, raunchy alcohol presence but not stinging.

Drinkability  This is a mouth-watering Scottish explosion that will surprise even those familiar with the style.

[since I found a bottle that was a year old, it may have affected the score.]

A-nice dark copper hue, light tan head dissipates fairly quick, but some residual head clings to glass. Some sediment in pint glass, so I am assuming it was bottle conditioned, which lead to some really nice tiny co2 bubbles.

S-warm, with some hints of roasted malt.

T-good alcoholic warmth up front, finishes with some malty bitterness, then some malt, finally the alcoholic warmth. All nicely balanced.

M-Velvety smooth - nailed it. med. low carbonation

O-I like the fact that the alcohol doesn't try to rape you when you sip this. As I am drinking this with a cold, I would like to re-evaluate this once my cold is gone. But I am super-impressed with it even with my shnozz on the fritz :)

It pours a deep cloudy brown with a 1 finger head that lingers throughout most of the drink.

The nose is huge smoked malt and a sweet caramel smell to it. This one is just a malt bomb in the nose.

The taste starts off with a nice malt sweetness, caramel, some bready biscuit character. It then transforms into a ton of smoky flavor at the end; maybe peat smoked malt. It's really nice and smoky and reminds me much more of a nice scotch than anything else I've had. I really enjoyed the smokiness and the hint of alcohol at the end which brought everything together.

The body was medium full and was on the lower side of carbonation. The huge amount of smokiness at the end hampered drinkability and the 10oz. snifter was a perfect size as I think it would start to be a bit much if I it was served as a full pint.

12oz bottle with a black cap. Pours into my glass a hazy, opaque brown with ruby highlights. A small light tan head appears and then quickly falls to a ring around the top. Aromas start with caramel malt accented by some figs and raisins. Some brown sugar and a bit of red grape skin. Earthy peat in the back.

First sip brings big caramel and bready malt upfront. It's followed by raisins and a somewhat distinct red grape flavor. Figs, brown sugar and a faint touch of hops. Earthy peat is there in good form. Flows down with a good malt sweetness that doesn't get overpowering. Finishes with a hint of alcohol and somewhat dry astringency.

Mouthfeel is rich and creamy with a subtle carbonation. Big maltiness that goes down smooth at the same time. Pretty easy to drink for a bigger beer. Overall, this just doesn't really wow me like I thought it might, but it's a solid brew overall.